Dead boys lie in road for hours

2008-07-27 17:57

Johan Eybers

Springs - The bodies of two boys lay on a busy freeway for five hours on Friday afternoon, after the quad bike they were on collided with another vehicle.

Apparently the police from Nigel and Springs got caught up in a dispute over whose jurisdiction the accident had occurred in.

The parents of Rouxan Brits, 11, and Bennie Zeelie, 13, kept a vigil over the bodies until the police arrived.

Both the boys died on impact when an oncoming vehicle hit their quad bike on the freeway between Nigel and Delmas on the East Rand.

Bennie's mother Sarie Zeelie, 36, said she waited and watched over her son's body from 16:30 until 21:30, while the police argued among themselves.

"It was the worst five hours of my life.

"I knew Bennie was dead, but my natural instinct was to pick him up, take him home and wrap him in a warm blanket.

"But for hours I had to stand at a distance looking at his cold little body lying on the tar.

"I couldn't even give him a last hug."

Miranda Brits, 33, said Rouxan's body was lying in the middle of the road while cars were speeding past it.

"The accident happened during peak-hour traffic, but there was no one to regulate the traffic.

"We had to stand helplessly next to the road and hope that his body would not be hit by another car."

A police photographer showed up only a few hours later to take photos of the accident scene and the hearse arrived only at 21:30 to remove the bodies.

Stefan Brits, 33, said they still did not know exactly how the accident had happened.

"The boys were not allowed to ride anywhere other than in the veld and on the dirt road that runs past our house.

"So we're surprised that they were on the freeway when the accident happened.

"They probably just took a chance to get to the café," said Stefan.

- Rapport